Leone helps Jays beat Rays
TORONTO Dominic Leone rejoined the Blue Jays on Wednesday after spending three days on the bereavement list.
When he got into the game, it was like he hadn’t missed a beat.
Leone recorded two crucial outs in the seventh inning to help Toronto beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2. Coming in with the bases loaded and a one-run lead, the 25-year-old right-hander struck out Evan Longoria and induced a pop fly from Logan Morrison to keep the Blue Jays ahead.
“It’s good to be back, I figured first day out of course I get thrown in there,” Leone said. “But ultimately I just wanted to do my job, be aggressive and not back down.
“Longoria’s an unbelievable hitter, he’s had my number in years past so I really tried to bring the fight to him.”
Starter Marcus Stroman, who was charged with two runs — one of them walked in by Aaron Loup before Leone took the mound — greeted Leone on the dugout steps and embraced him after that inning.
Stroman (11-6) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing those two runs and six hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Ryan Goins drove in the eventual winning run before leaving the game with an injury.
RED SOX 5, CARDINALS 4
BOSTON — Mookie Betts lined a tworun double off the left-field wall with two outs in the ninth inning, capping a threerun rally that lifted the Boston Red Sox over the St. Louis Cardinals.
MARLINS 8, GIANTS 1
MIAMI — Giancarlo Stanton’s homer streak ended, but he got two hits and helped Miami beat San Francisco.
Stanton had homered in a team-record six consecutive games. He leads the majors with 44.
RANGERS 12, TIGERS 6
ARLINGTON, Texas — Elvis Andrus had the go-ahead home run among his four RBIs, Cole Hamels won again despite a shaky outing and Texas swept a three-game series from Detroit.
CUBS 7, REDS 6
CHICAGO — Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam in the first inning and Javier Baez scored on a wild pitch in the ninth as Chicago beat Cincinnati.
ANGELS 3, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON — Luis Valbuena and Kole Calhoun homered, Ricky Nolasco bounced back from a rocky first inning before exiting with an injury and Los Angeles split the two-game series with NL East-leading Washington.
YANKEES 5, METS 3
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge launched a titanic homer, Didi Gregorius snapped a seventhinning tie with a two-run double and the New York Yankees beat the Mets for their third straight victory in the Subway Series.
BREWERS 7, PIRATES 6
MILWAUKEE — Manny Pina hit a tworun homer in the eighth inning to lift Milwaukee over Pittsburgh.
ASTROS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 5
HOUSTON — Josh Reddick hit a tworun homer in a four-run eighth inning as Houston defeated Arizona.
MARINERS 7, ORIOLES 6
SEATTLE — Recently acquired Yonder Alonso hit his first homer for Seattle and drove in three runs, and Marc Rzepczynski struck out Chris Davis with the bases loaded to end a win over Baltimore.
ROYALS 7, ATHLETICS 6
OAKLAND, Calif. — Alex Gordon hit a goahead single in the ninth inning and Kansas City topped Oakland.
PADRES 3, PHILLIES 0
SAN DIEGO — Clayton Richard pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout since 2012 and Wil Myers stole three bases in an inning as San Diego completed a three-game sweep of Philadelphia.